Jan 12, 2018 - Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, completed a year of strong growth in 2017. The air cargo carrier’s robust performance, set against the backdrop of a resurgent global air cargo market, was underlined by the introduction of specialised customer focused air transportation solutions across a number of industry verticals and by continued investment in infrastructure.

jan 12, 2018  -  A Belgian air passenger has been forced to leave New Zealand after attempting to smuggle three sausages into Auckland. Ministry for Primary Industries staff intercepted the sausages on Sunday after the passenger attempted to conceal them in a backpack when passing through biosecurity checks at Auckland Airport.

“One of our x-ray operators spotted the risk items. They turned out to be pork and salami sausages, both of which could have carried diseases with the potential to cause major harm to New Zealand agriculture,” says Craig Hughes, MPI North Passenger Manager.

The passenger was refused entry to New Zealand after the man admitted he intended to hide the sausages from biosecurity officials. He was returning to New Zealand on a work visa and confessed he was aware of New Zealand’s strict biosecurity requirements, says Mr Hughes. “Working closely with Immigration New Zealand, we take a very hard line on international travellers that deliberately ignore our biosecurity rules. “It is loud and clear that every arriving passenger is required to declare or dispose items that could pose biosecurity risk to New Zealand.”

| An MPI release  ||  January 12, 2018   |||

Jan 12, 2018  - Panasonic Avionics Corporation has unveiled a major evolution of its satellite connectivity service with the launch of its third-generation communications network at CES 2018.  Panasonic Avionics’ third-generation network is built to meet the growing connectivity demands of airlines and their passengers. Throughout the first quarter of 2018, aircraft from a number of airlines will be transitioned to Panasonic Avionics’ new network. In addition, Panasonic subsidiary, ITC Global, will leverage the new broadband network to deliver connectivity to its energy, maritime and enterprise customers.

Jan 12, 2018  -  Statistics reveal the number of passengers through the terminal was the highest number for any month on record.  Chief Aeronautical and Commercial Officer Justin Watson says 638,043 passengers used the terminal during December, up 4.8% on the previous December. "This equates to more than the entire population of Canterbury and the West Coast through the terminal during the past month alone," he says.

Jan 11, 2018  -  With the holiday season in full swing and tourists pouring in through the country's gateways if your thoughts have turned toward getting into the motel business and fancy yourself as a minehost then the Motel Operators Handbook 2017 published by Hospitality New Zealand should be on your reading list.

The guides contents include:

Buying a Motel   Looking for a MotelAn Introduction to Purchasing or Leasing a MotelRepairs and MaintenanceResponsibilities in the lawLand Transfer RegistrationThe Accounts and Financial PlanningValuationsFinancing and Due DiligenceFinancial SecuritySetting up your motelRunning your motel

Continue here to order your copy

| An MSCNewsWire  info item ||  January 11, 2018   |||

Jan 9, 2018  -  Thats right  IATA CEO Alexandre de Juniac has come out swinging with accusations that the global aviation industry is in a crisis writes Hannah Edensor for TravelWeekly.  The major player in aviation claimed, in his latest IATA blog post, that “we are headed for an infrastructure crisis”, in which airports are over-committed and under-resourced.

“Many of the world’s airports are operating at or beyond their design capacity,” he wrote.

“The provision of air navigation services in major markets like the United States, Europe and China is struggling to keep pace with the technical capabilities to manage demand at optimum efficiency.”

According to de Juniac, the world’s airports need to undergo reform, despite it seeming like a bit of a long shot.

“We don’t see governments preparing to make the investments today that will be needed to cope with future growth—especially as major infrastructure planning cycles are now measured in decades,” de Juniac claimed.

“THERE IS ALSO A CRISIS IN THE COST OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND EUROPE, UNFORTUNATELY, PROVIDES THE EXAMPLE.

“Over the last decade, passenger charges on the average one-way ticket have more than doubled—from €16 ($19) to €33 ($39). Over the same period the airfare portion of the average ticket price fell.

“Why these divergent courses? The bluntest explanation rests on pure market forces,” de Juniac asserted.

“Airlines are subjected to intense competition. So they are in a constant search for the efficiencies needed to make a more compelling price offering to their customers.

“Airports, on the other hand, are not subjected to the same competitive pressures. With very few exceptions, there is no choice of airports.

“If you want to fly to Amsterdam, for example, Schiphol is your only choice. And when it looks like there might be competition as in Paris, you find that Orly and Charles de Gaulle have the same owner.

“AIRPORTS ARE CRITICAL PARTNERS FOR AIRLINES. WITHOUT THEM, AIRLINES WOULD LITERALLY HAVE NO PLACE TO TAKE THEIR PASSENGERS.

“And we are working in partnership with airports to make improvements in key areas such as security, the environment, and the passenger experience.

“But when it comes to charges, the market power of airports is dominant. And that is reflected by European airports, which, despite a light-handed airport charges directive trying to promote efficiency, still managed to double their passenger charges.

“The good news is that the European Union (EU) is set to consider reviewing its airport charges directive. And airlines (the main customer of the airports) are asking, in no uncertain terms, that it be substantially strengthened.

“STRENGTHENED REGULATION WILL, IN THE FIRST INSTANCE, PROTECT PASSENGERS. HAD EUROPEAN CHARGES REMAINED AT 2006 LEVELS WE ESTIMATE THAT 50 MILLION MORE PEOPLE WOULD BE FLYING IN EUROPE TODAY.

“And that would pay big dividends by creating some 238,000 jobs and adding €50 billion to the continent’s GDP.

“Those are figures that EU regulators should find hard to ignore. Our goal is to find a regulatory regime that fairly balances the interests of airports, passengers, airlines, citizens and the economy.

“If we can achieve that, it will be a hot export commodity. Other regions would have to take note.

“Because the challenges of high airport charges are in no way limited to what we see in Europe!”

Source:  TravelWeekly  ||  January 9, 2018   |||

Jan 9, 2018  -  Anyone who has ever flown from Melbourne to Sydney would know the flight is quite easy.  A mere hour twenty will have you transported from graffiti-clad laneways to pristine harbourside beaches.

Jan 7, 2018  - Even as the European short-haul air market has consolidated and low-cost carriers have thrived, Germany’s domestic market has been dominated by two local airlines —Lufthansa, with hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, and the much smaller Air Berlin, with its bases in Berlin and Dusseldorf.  But that’s beginning to change.

Dec 26, 2017  -  Emirates is celebrating the fast-approaching new year with a range of low Hello 2018 return fares from New Zealand to the regions around its network, including UK, Europe and Africa from $1,599 return and Australia from $469 return.

The special Economy Class fares apply to various travel periods in 2018 and are on sale until January 16.

Flights from Auckland to Melbourne and Brisbane are available from $469 return and from Christchurch to Sydney for $489 return.

"The Hello 2018 fares are particularly attractive, especially for our many customers who appreciate the range of 39 Emirates destinations in Europe, 22 in Africa and 17 in the Middle East," said Emirates’ New Zealand Regional Manager, Chris Lethbridge. "To this network can now be added London Stansted, the new Emirates gateway in the UK from June."

In addition to fares starting from $1,599 return from both Auckland and Christchurch to UK, Europe and Africa, Emirates also has fares from both cities to the Middle East from $1,899 return. Other regional fares include Auckland to Asia return from $899 (Christchurch $999), Auckland to the Indian sub-continent from $1,479 (Christchurch from $1,599) and Auckland to Eastern Europe from $1,599 (Christchurch also from $1,599).

Emirates flies four daily A380 services from New Zealand to Dubai and beyond.

Various travel periods and other conditions apply. Fares are inclusive of all taxes and are subject to currency fluctuations and seat availability.

Bookings can be made through authorised travel agents, by phone to Emirates on 0508 364 728 or online at www.emirates.com/nz

| An Emirates release  ||  December 26, 2017   |||

Dec 22, 2017  -   Air New Zealand is turning to technology to tackle the language barriers that often arise during travel.  The airline is one of the first corporates globally to trial a customer service use case for Google’s wireless Bluetooth Pixel Buds headphones which enable live translation of 40 languages via Google’s Pixel handset. Air New Zealand Chief Digital Officer Avi Golan says the airline has a number of multi-lingual employees but naturally there are times when the relevant language speaker may not be on hand and technology could play a pivotal role in those moments. “We operate to 30 international destinations and our customers speak an even more diverse range of languages. Google’s Pixel Buds could assist in areas such as check-in and boarding as well as inflight to help our staff communicate effectively with international customers. “Both Air New Zealand and Google put people and technology at the heart of their products and experiences and it’s been excellent exploring how translation technology like Google’s Pixel Buds could enhance our customer experience. “In this increasingly digital world our customers expect us to provide a fast and personalised experience. It’s crucial we embrace technology solutions and collaborating with like-minded partners helps us keep ahead of the game,” says Mr Golan. Air New Zealand has an aspiration to be a leading digital airline. It’s experimentation with Google Pixel Buds follows on from other initiatives this year involving Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Social Robotics. Click here to download broadcast quality footage of Air New Zealand’s experiment with the Google Pixel Buds.

| An Air New Zealand release  ||  December 22, 2017   |||